Fire extinguisher discharge valve



June 9 w. M. HAESSLER ETAL 3,254,870

FIRE EXTINGUISHER DISCHARGE VALVE Filed March '7, 1963 q x g 40 39 3e 51W WW1] 50 INVENTORS WALTER M. HAESSLER CHARLES F. WILLMS &..../m2W

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,254,870 FIRE EXTINGUISHER DISCHARGEVALVE Walter M. Haessler, Chatham, and Charles F. Willms, Rutherford,N.J., assignors, by mesne assignments, to The Fyr-Fyter Company, acorporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 7, 1963, Ser. No. 263,501 Claims.(Cl. 251-43) The present invention relates to fire extinguishingapparatus, and more particularly to an improved discharge valve for fireextinguishing fluid.

In fire extinguishing apparatus it generally is desirable that thedischarge valves for the fire extinguishing fluid operate with lowenergy requirements in order that the control equipment be as light inweight as possible. In the event the fire extinguishing fluid is carbondioxide it is at comparatively high pressure at room temperature, and inorder to be discharged at a high rate, it must be confined by adischarge valve of large discharge area requiring a large operatingforce. Such discharge valves are generally pressure operated andcontrolled by pilot valves which release fluid from the container toactuate the pistons to unseat the main valves. In order that the mainvalve be held open until the container has been completely dischargedmechanical latching means has been used. Such a construction isdescribed in US. Patent 2,622,612 issued to A. Manhartsberger on December 23, 1952, for a Pilot Operated Valve with Auto matic HoldingMeans. This patent discloses a construction utilizing locking ballsadapted to pass into openings in a locking sleeve when the pilot valveis operated.

The present invention aims to provide a fire extinguisher dischargevalve with pneumatic locking means for maintaining the main valveunseated until the pressure of the fire extinguishing fluid has droppedbelow a predetermined value.

In accordance with the invention this is accomplished by providing afire extinguisher valve in which piston means is integral with the mainvalve member, a pilot or check valve being provided to releasefluid frombehind the piston so that pressure against the front of the pistoncauses it to move the main valve into the open position. Fluid blockingmeans is provided operative by movement of the check valve so that thepiston valve member is locked in open position by pressure against thefront of the piston. Upon the discharge of the fire extinguishing fluidand the dropping of pressure against the front of the piston the valveis again closed by spring action.

The construction is advantageous in that upon discharge themain valvemember is pneumatically locked in the open position even though thepilot or vent valve is only momentarily opened and is closed thereafter,further, the extinguisher may be charged through its outlet.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fire extinguisherdischarge valve which is simple and economical in manufacture, eflicientin operation and durable in use.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description and from the accompanying drawing which shows, byway of example, an embodiment of the invention.

The drawing is a sectional view through a fire extinguisher dischargevalve in accordance with the invention, portions of the control headbushing and of the discharge outlet being broken away.

Referring to the drawing there is shown in the figure a fireextinguisher valve 1 in accordance with the invention and including ahousing 2 having a threaded lower end 3 adapted to be threadedlyreceived in the neck of a fire extinguisher container. An inlet passage4 is adapted to threadedly receive a syphon tube as is well known in theart.

Patented June 7, 1966 The discharge valve is provided with a threadedouter surface 5 to receive; a discharge line fitting. A conventionalsafety fitting 6 is provided in the outlet and adapted to be movedinwardly by the conduit so as to be rendered inoperative when thedischarge line is connected to the valve, the function of the safetymeans 6 being well known in the art and not forming part of the presentinvention. A partition member 9 provided with a valve seat 10 separatesthe inlet portion 4 and the outlet portion 11 of the valve.

The housing 2 is fitted with a safety plug 12 including a safety disc 14as is well known in the art, the safety disc closing the inlet passage 4from the atmosphere. A conventional control head may be attached to aboss 15 extending from the housing 2, the threaded portion being shownas broken away. A piston valve member 16 includes a valve member 17fitted with seating material 19 adapted to engage the valve seat 10.Integral with the valve member 17 is the piston portion 20 having afront face generally indicated at 21 and a rear face indicated at 22.The housing is formed with a cylinder 24 for the reciprocation of thepiston valve member 16.

The piston valve member 16 is made with face 21 and its rear face 22both larger in area than the area of the valve seat 10. The piston valvemember 20 is provided with a recess 25 on its rear side for thereciprocation therein of an extension 26 of a pilot or check valve 27also fitted with seating material 29 and adapted to engage a valve seat30 positioned about a vent valve opening 31 located in a partitionmember 32 closing one end of the cylinder 24. A spring 33 abuts at oneend against the main valve member 17 and at its other end against thecheck valve member 27 tending to urge both valve members against theirrespective seats.

In order to pass fluid from the front face to the rear face of thepiston valve member 16, a fluid passage 34 is provided extending fromthe inlet passage 4 to the recess 25 in the piston. Fluid flow limitingmeans are provided at 35 by reducing the diameter of the passage 34. Inan operative embodiment of the invention the passage 34 is of a diameterof .093 inch While the reduced portion is of the order of .031 inch indiameter. The fluid passage from the recess 25 to the face 22 of thepiston valve member is provided by means of openings 36 and 37 extendingthrough the extension 26 of the check.valve member. In a workingembodiment of the invention the openings 36 and 37 have been made of theorder of .046 inch in diameter. In this construction the valve seat 10was approximately one-half inch in diameter while the piston valvemember 16 was one inch in diameter.

Means are provided to close off the fluid passage leading from the frontface 31 to the rear face 22 of the piston valve member. Such meansincludes an O-ring 39 positioned in a groove extending about the wall ofthe recess 25 of the piston valve member. The O-ring 39 is positionednear the face 22 of the piston valve member in order that when operatedthe check valve member 20 need only have relative movement with respectto the piston valve member 16 so that the openings 36 and,37 are movedinwardly of the O-ring 39 and thus close off fluid passage to the'rearof the piston. An O-ring 40 is positioned about the piston member 16 ina suitable groove so as to seal the space between the outer wall of thepiston and the cylinder.

In the operation of the discharge valve 1 it is attached to a containerwhich may be charged by attaching a supply line to the outlet fitting 5.The pressure of the incoming fluid unseats the main valve member 17 andthe incoming fluid passes between the valve seat 10 and the seatingmaterial 19. The piston valve member 16 does not move inwardly away fromits seat a sufficient distance so that the O-ring 39 blocks the passages36 and surized at the same time as the container is filled so that themain valve member 17 returns to its seat as soon as the chargingpressure is dropped in the outlet.

Upon the discharge of the valve by an unseating of the check valve 27the fluid pressure against the rear face 22 of the piston is almostimmediately vented to the atmosphere through the vent passage 31,whereupon the pressure against the front face 21 of the piston valvemember 16 causes the piston valve member to move to the right therebyunseating the main valve member 17. Simultaneously the O-ring 39 haspassed the openings 36 and 37 thereby blocking the passage of furtherfluid into the space adjacent the rear face 22 of the piston valvemember so that it is pneumatically locked into the open position untilthe pressure within the inlet drops thus allowing the spring 33 to moveboth valve members against their seats returning the unit to its initialposition. It should be noted that the openings 36 and 37 are of largerarea than the metering orifice 35 so that the pressure within the recess25 is reduced at a faster rate than it is built up by pressure in theinlet 4. The construction is such that the piston valve member 16 Willbe held pneumatically locked in the open positon even though the checkor vent valve 2'7 is closed after actuation. The piston valve member 16will remain open until the pressure within the valve has dropped so thatthe force of the spring 33 is able to move both of the valves backagainst their seats.

While the invention has been described and illustrated with respect to aspecific embodiment thereof, it will be understood that otherembodiments may be resorted to without departing from the invention.Therefore, the form of the invention set out above should be consideredas illustrative and not as limiting the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. A fire extinguisher discharge valve comprising a housing having aninlet and an outlet and a fluid passage therebetween, a main valve seatdefining inlet and outlet portions of the fluid passage, a valve memberadapted to engage the valve seat from the inlet side, a double facedpiston member integral with the valve member, the valve member formingpart of the front of the piston member, cylinder means in the housing onthe inlet side of said seat, said piston sealingly and slidably mountedin the cylinder for movement of the valve member against and away fromits seat, the piston having front and rear faces, the areas of each faceof the piston greater than the area of the valve seat and the rear facehaving a greater area than the front face, said piston having an axialrecess in its rear face, pressure equalizing fluid passage means leadingfrom the front face of the piston to the rear face thereof through saidpiston and recess so that the piston is normally urged into valveclosing position by the pressure of fluid in its inlet passage, ventmeans, in the end of the cylinder for venting pressure from the cylinderbehind the piston, a valve seat about the vent means, a normally closedvent valve member within the cylinder engaging the valve seat andadapted to be opened to release pressure from the rear face of thepiston so that the main valve member is opened responsive to inletpressure on the front face of the piston, fluid passage limiting meanshaving a smaller passage than said vent means in said fluid passagemeans leading from the front to the rear faces of the piston so thatfluid may be bled from the rear face of the piston through the ventvalve at a faster rate than it enters from the inlet, an extension forthe vent valve member extending axially inwardly of the cylinder andhaving a portion thereof slidably engaged in the piston recess, saidfluid passage means including a fluid passageway through said extension,and means rendering said last mentioned means ineffective when either ofthe valve members are unseated.

2. A fire extinguisher discharge valve according to claim 1 in which thecylinder means has an enlarged portion at the valve end of the pistonmember and said fluid passage limiting means is a metering orificelocated in the valve end of the piston member so that the orifice memberis unblocked irrespective of the position of the piston member.

3. A fire extinguisher discharge valve according to claim 2 in which themeans rendering the fluid passage ineifective when either of the valvemembers are unseated is an opening forming said fluid passage extendingthrough said vent valve member portion, said portion sealingly andslidably engaged in the piston recess, said opening located outwardly ofthe piston recess immediately adjacent the rear face of the piston whenboth valves are seated so that when either of the valve members areunseated said opening is closed by the wall of said recess.

4. A fire extinguisher discharge valve according to claim 1 in which themeans rendering the fluid passage ineffective when either of the valvemembers are unseated is an opening forming said fluid passage extendingthrough said vent valve member portion, said portion sealingly andslidably engaged in the piston recess, said opening located outwardly ofthe piston recess immediately adjacent the rear face of the piston whenboth valves are seated so that when either of the valve members areunseated said opening is closed by the wall of said recess.

5. A fire extinguisher discharge valve according to claim 1 in whichsaid vent valve member portion slidably engaged in the piston recess hasa recess on its end opposite said vent valve member and a spring ispositioned with one of its ends in said recess and its other endabutting against the inner end of the valve member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,622,612 12/1952Manhartsberger 137-490 X 2,891,760 6/1959 Dewar 25144 FOREIGN PATENTS449,556 9/ 1927 Germany.

ISADOR WEIL, Primary Examiner.

D. LAMBERT, Assistant Examiner.

1. A FIRE EXTINGUISHER DISCHARGE VALVE COMPRISING A HOUSING HAVING ANINLET AND AN OUTLET AND A FLUID PASSAGE THEREBETWEEN, A MAIN VALVE SEATDEFINING INLET AND OUTLET PORTIONS OF THE FLUID PASSAGE, A VALVE MEMBERADAPTED TO ENGAGE THE VALVE SEAT FROM THE INLET SIDE, A DOUBLE FACEDPISTON MEMBER INTEGRAL WITH THE VALVE MEMBER, THE VALVE MEMBER FORMINGPART OF THE FRONT OF THE PISTON MEMBER, CYLINDER MEANS IN THE HOUSING ONTHE INLET SIDE OF SAID SEAT, SAID PISTON SEALINGLY AND SLIDABLY MOUNTEDIN THE CYLINDER MEANS IN THE HOUSING ON THE INLET SIDE OF SAID AWAY FROMITS SEAT, THE PISTON HAVING FRONT AND REAR FACES, THE AREAS OF EACH FACEOF THE PISTON GREATER THAN THE AREA OF THE VALVE SEAT AND THE REAR FACEHAVING A GREATER AREA THAN THE FRONT FACE, SAID PISTON HAVING AN AXIALRECESS IN ITS REAR FACE, PRESSURE EQUALIZING FLUID PASSAGE MEANS LEADINGFROM THE FRONT FACE OF THE PISTON TO THE REAR FACE THEREOF THROUGH SAIDPISTON AND RECESS SO THAT THE PISTON IS NORMALLY URGED INTO VALVECLOSING POSITION BY THE PRESSURE OF FLUID IN ITS INLET PASSAGE, VENTMEANS, IN THE END OF THE CYLINDER FOR VENTING PRESSURE FROM THE CYLINDERBEHIND THE PISTON, A VALVE SEAT ABOUT THE VENT MEANS, A NORMALLY CLOSEDVENT VALVE MEMBER WITHIN THE CYLINDER ENGAGING THE VALVE SEAT ANDADAPTED TO BE OPENED TO RELEASE PRESSURE FROM THE REAR FACE OF THEPISTON SO THAT THE MAIN VALVE MEMBER IS OPENED RESPONSIVE TO INLETPRESSURE ON THE FRONT FACE OF THE PISTON, FLUID PASSAGE LIMITING MEANSHAVING A SMALLER PASSAGE THAN SAID VENT MEANS IN SAID FLUID PASSAGEMEANS LEADING FROM THE FRONT TO THE REAR FACES OF THE PISTON THROUGH THEVENT VALVE AT A FASTER RATE FACE OF THE PISTON THROUGH THE VENT VALVE ATA FASTER RATE THAN IT ENTERS FROM THE INLET, AN EXTENSION FOR THE VENTVALVE MEMBER EXTENDING AXIALLY INWARDLY OF THE CYLINDER AND HAVING APORTION THEREOF SLIDABLY ENGAGED IN THE PISTON RECESS, SAID FLUIDPASSAGE MEANS INCLUDING A FLUID PASSAGEWAY THROUGH SAID EXTENSION, ANDMEANS RENDERING SAID LAST MENTIONED MEANS INEFFECTIVE WHEN EITHER OF THEVALVE MEMBERS ARE UNSEATED.